Tampons Packaging

Task:

– Redesign a packaging of a south african product in one week.

Problem:

In need of a real challenge, I choose to redesign the Ava Secrets tampon’s packaging. Researches online (forums, discussions, reviews) and offline (asking friends and sneaking around stores observing the customer behaviour) has proven that a huge amount of women still have issues buying tampons in public. They consider it as an embarrassing product to buy.

Solution:

I came to following conclusion:

Girls often bundle tampons with at least 2 other items that are not embarrassing.

91% of times the packaging is placed upside down on cash out to hide the product image.

=> Create a product that is not obvious when face down.

Girls with tampons in their basket will go to cashier of the same sex if available.

The packaging is inspected in detail while being on the toilet as a pass time.

=> Write an appealing text on the back and give a link to the website.

The packaging should be quick and painless.

So here is what I came up with:

Facts

– There was a tampon drawn on the face of the old packaging, however, as studies show, girls don’t want others to see what they are buying. So I removed everything obtrusive from the packaging.
– I kept the baroque style which was intended by the original design but made it better. See the logo (left old, right new):

– I reduced the time and effort on opening the package and taking tampons out (top old, bottom new):

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3 thoughts

I’ve been designing packaging for many years and realised very early in my career that you are at your most creative when you leave college or university. unfortunately the reality of commerce eventually gets to you, and now the first criteria i establish are the commercial ones. i e how is it going to be printed, what are the volumes, how is it going to be packed, is it stand alone or is it a range of products, are there different pack configurations, where is it going to be merchandised, what are the distribution channels, will the pack be supported with point-of-sale material, who is the opposition, etc. etc. only once you have answers to these questions can one seriously start designing diligently. as every one of those questions impacts on the others.

Hi, this is a diligent response to the brief and some good thinking here. the idea that the student took the ‘need state’ of the target market as the basis of the revamped design is really great. using packaging to answer a marketing need is something more designers should do. well done. Unfortunately in the real world this thinking is often hampered by economics and reality and these factors unfortunately must to be considered when designing packs. in this case, two of those very real considerations are not evident in the proposed revamp, and they are; 1. the cost of construction of a two piece pack and 2. the tamper evident locking device. the current pack is printed in two colours for cost reasons, and this has also been the case with the proposed revamp. this is great as the profit margin on tampons is very limited. the product is imported from abroad and packaged by hand here the in SA. this could be done with proposal, but a tamper evident clasp needs to be included, or perhaps some other device that clearly will show if the pack has been opened. the current one clearly damages or tears the box if opened. this is done on purpose for the protection of the consumer. cellophane wrapping is not an option for cost / volume reasons. a two piece pack will almost double the cost and this cost will not be able to be recouped in this category as tampons are mostly seen as a grudge purchase….a utility product. having said all the comments above i still think this is a diligent, well thought out proposal, so well done and never let reality dampen you initial concepts, rather try and overcome the hurdles with great design.

Wow, thanks Mike to leave such thorough comment! Indeed, while spending less money on printing, the construction of a two piece package would unfortunately still increase the price. Also, good point with the tamper evident clasp!
Seeing that this redesign inspired you to take time and write an honest critique really flatters me! It’s also very valuable information for future readers. Thank you 🙂